Road signal



Oct. 4, 1955 A. A. SEQUEIRA "ROAD SIGNAL Fil ed May 15, .1953

T/ ma m .E 5 a A v o 1 2 W W a e 5 3 2. M L// F M United States PatentROAD SIGNAL Antonio A. 'Sequeira, Acushnet, Mass.

Application May 15, 1953,, Serial-No. 355,283

1 Claim. (Cl. 116-433.)

This invention relates to signal devices. More particularly, theinvention has reference to a device of thecharacter referred to whichwill be in the nature of .a foldable, readily-portable sign, so designedas to be readily stored in the trunk of an automobile, and set up easilywhenever its use becomes advisable.

By way of background, it maybe noted that in many instances, theoperator of a vehicle is compelled, under emergency conditions, to halthis vehicle for road repairs. Under these circumstances, the vehicle,though pulled to the side of the roadway will be so located as to causethe vehicle operator to be endangered by passing vehicles. Manyaccidents have resulted in these circumstances, .and accordingly, themain object of the ,present' invention is to provide a safety devicewhich can be folded in a small area and readily carried in anautomobile, which safety device can be erected easily when necessary, towarn approaching drivers of the stopped vehicle.

Obviously, a road signal device of the type stated should be formed asinexpensively as possible, and to this end, I propose to form the signaldevice as a pair of hingedly-connected frames, which ordinarily foldflat, but which can be spread to define a structure of inverted V- shapethat will be readily supported upon the road surface. In accordance withthe invention, each frame is provided with a plate portion, whichportion can have lettering designed to warn the oncoming vehicles.Further, each plate is formed with a center opening, the openings of therespective frames being aligned horizontally so as to support theopposite ends of a conventional flashlight. In one of the openings, aconcavo-convex lens is mounted, said lens being so disposed as toenlarge the size of the light at the head end of the flashlight, whileat the same time coloring said light red or some other color signifyingdanger conditions.

Another object of importance is to provide a road signal device asstated which will be constructed relatively inexpensively, will befoldable into a minimum amount of space, and will be simply designed, soas to make use of a conventional flashlight or other illuminatingdevice.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claimsappended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like referencecharacters designate like parts throughout the several views, andwherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a road signal device formed inaccordance with the present invention, the device being shown as itappears when in use;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of Figure1;

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the signal device, as it appears whenviewed from the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the device as it appears whenfolded;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary, vertical sectional view showing amodified form; and

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 showing a second modified form.

Mica

IF-he reference numeral 10 has been applied in the drawing to designaterelatively elongated, parallel, transvers'ely :sp'aced legs of a framedesignated generally by the reference numeral 11. The numeral 12 hasbeen applied to the paralfleh spaced legs of 'a frame 13, said framesbeing :hingedly connected to one another at their upper ends, by a hingepin 14 extending fully from :side to side. of the respective frames,said pin having its ends extended through registering openings formed inthe upper ends of the legs 10, 12.

It will be seen that by reason of the construction illustratcd anddescribed, the frame can be normally collapsed or folded to the positionshown in Figure 4. .In this posi* tion of the parts, the frame can bestored in a relatively small area, as for example, on the floor of anordinary automobile.

At the lower ends, "the legs 10 and 1-2 are beveled as at 16, 1%,respectively, :thus to cause the device to be .firm-ly supported whenthe frames 11, .13 are swung away from one another to the position shownin Figures 1 and 2.

Aspartof the frame 11, I provide a flat, approximately rectangular plate20, said plate being adapted for the .imprinting of a suitable legendthereon, such as the word danger, intended to warn oncoming drivers ofthe stopped vehicle ahead. The plate 20 extends between theupperendportions of thelegs .1-0, and is fixedlysecured to. said legs bymeans of nails 22 or equivalentfastening elements.

Fixed to the outer surface of plate .20 are reflectors 24, saidreflectors being disposed in any desired arrangemen and in any desirednumben A center opening 26 is formed in plate 20, and mounted in saidopening is a concave-convex lens 28 which, in a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, is tinted red or some other color intended to signifydangerous conditions. The lens 28 is integrally formed with an outwardlydirected peripheral flange 30 secured to the edge portion of opening 26by means of screws or nails 32.

As will be noted from Figure 2, the upper ends of the legs 12 of frame13 are beveled so as to engage against the back surface of plate 20,when the frames are swung away from one another to an open position. Inthis way, the plate 20 limits movement of the frames away from oneanother.

The frame 13 includes a plate 36 analogous to the plate 20, said plate36 extending between and being fixedly secured along its opposite sideedges to the legs 12. Plate 36 has a center opening 40, and when theframes are swung to an open position, the openings 40, 26 will behorizontally aligned. As a result, a flashlight 42 can be positionedwithin said openings, with the head end-of the flashlight beingsupported in the opening 26, and the other end of the flashlight beingsupported in the opening 40. The openings are substantially greater indiameter than the diameter of an ordinary flashlight, and as a result,the lens 28 will enlarge the light cast by the flashlight 42, while atthe same time coloring said light red.

An effective signal device for oncoming motorists is thus provided, at aminimum of cost. The signal device can, of course, be used either in theday or night-time, and when used in the day-time will still provide avisual indication to an oncoming driver of the danger conditions ahead,this being so by reason of the legends printed upon or otherwisedisplayed upon the plates 20, 36. At night, substantially large, redlight is displayed to oncoming vehicles, and it will be readilyappreciated that by incorporation of a suitable flasher means, the lightcan be caused to blink on and ofii, thus to direct the attention of thedriver approaching the scene even more forcibly to the presence of thestopped vehicle.

In Figure 5, there is illustrated a modified form wherein a pair oflarge, dome-shaped lenses 44 are mounted in the hingedly-connectedplates, with a two-way flashlight 46 being supported with its endsdisposed in the respective lenses. The lenses would, of course, bepreferably colored red, although they could be some other color or couldbe clear, if desired. In any event, the construction illustrated inFigure 5 would provide a clear red light, both in front and in back,that could be seen from a great distance in either direction.

In Figure 6 there is illustrated a construction wherein, instead of atwo-way flashlight, there is used a trouble lamp. 48. The lamp 48 may besupported between the lenses 44 in any suitable manner, as for example,on a bar 50.

The cord extending from the bulb socket of the trouble lamp would have,at its other end, a plug permitting said cord to be inserted in thecigarette lighter socket of the automobile. Trouble lights of this typeare already known, per se. However, in accordance with the presentinvention, a flasher device would be placed in circuit with the bulb ofthe trouble light, to cause the light to blink on and off constantly,thus to provide a clearly visible blinker signal that could be seen inboth directions.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confinedto the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may beutilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the inventionto be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated anddescribed, since such construction is only intended to be illustrativeof the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carryout said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehendsany minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scopeof the appended claim.

4 3 What is claimed is: A road signal device comprising a pair of flatframes hingedly connected to one another at one end to swing betweenfolded and spread positions, each frame including a pair of parallellegs and a sign plate rigidly secured along its opposite side edges toand extending between said legs, each leg having at its upper end asingle, obliquely cut end surface, the legs of one pair being disposedin the space between the legs of the other pair and being coplanartherewith in said folded position, each leg of one pair being inside-by-side contact with the adjacent leg of the other pair, theoblique end surfaces of contacting legs being faced in oppositedirections, said end surfaces of the legs of one frame engaging againstthe sign plate of the other frame on swinging of the frames away fromeach other to spread positions, the sign plates having openings alignedhorizontally with one another in the plate engaging positions of saidend surfaces; and lens mounted in the opening of one of said sign platesfor directions of flashlight beams therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS262,205 Cameron Aug. 8, 1882 381,766 Deuther Apr. 24, 1888 2,164,985Cardarelli July 4, 1939 2,262,579 Foreman Nov. 11, 1941 2,517,119 Le DucAug. 1, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 612,134 Great Britain Nov. 9, 1948

